Imprisoned In Your Own Ship
by ell25
Summary: Yu Yan archers capture Zuko and Katara, but they're imprisoned in a place Zuko knows inside and out. But will that make it easy for them to escape? Or will they need the gaang's help? Last chapter! Sequel will be 'Fighting For Your Life'
1. Captured

**This is a Zutara fic, it might just be a frienship but could be more..not sure yet. I have not long started my first fic and wanted to just do another in between. I will add a couple more chapters but if I don't get enough feedback I will discontinue this one. Anyway sorry if it starts off a bit slow at the start, i didn't think so lol but I dunno if you all will. So anyway please read, review and enjoy!**

* * *

**Imprisoned In Your Own Ship**

The sun had just begun to rise; its light radiating off the blue-green water that sparkled magnificently. Dew still laid on the surface of the healthy grass and there was no wind at all. As one quarter of the sun could be seen over the horizon, he could already feel its warmth on his skin, soaking it in. It was impossible to sleep with images and flashbacks of his uncle in his mind playing over and over again continuously.

The water pushed and pulled, bringing along with it everything in its path, its calming and soothing sounds were the only noises to be heard. Small and subtle waves washed up on the shore, lightly touching his toes before being dragged back out again repeating itself. He had been so tensed up lately, and so he enjoyed the quiet mornings to himself, he had a chance to be alone and think without any distractions.

It was such a panoramic view, a picture perfect sight, perfect for a romantic meal on the beach. He couldn't take his eyes off the tranquil sight; its beauty was stunning, until he was snapped out of his thoughts from a familiar squawking sound of the hungry ratgulls, already waiting for a feast. Even though he was happy to be on Ember Island with his friends, it held a lot of forgotton memories.

A small but firm hand was placed on his shoulder reassuringly and he slightly jumped at the sudden appearance of another. But he melted into her soft touch on his skin and he relaxed once more, his skin prickling where the hand was placed. The slender girl sat next to him on the cool sand and comforted him just as a friend would. They needn't exchange a single word with each other, their demeanour said it all, smiling ear to ear at each others company and their eyes bore happiness and peacefulness. They had no worries in the world until…

The peace was interrupted, when suddenly two arrows were shot in unison at the couple on the beach who fell backwards onto the sand, and the ratgulls flew away squawking. Two Yu Yan archers revealed themselves from the shadows and picked the two teenagers up roughly, slinging them over their shoulders, one, having a little more trouble with the muscular boy. Their bodies lay limp and lifeless, their heads lightly tapping the Yu Yan archers in a type of rhythm every time they would take a step. They were not dead, just out cold. The Yu Yan archers were skilled in the art of archery and knew exactly where to hit a person with pin-point precision.

They loaded them off onto their ostrich horses, grunting with the sudden relief of extra weight. They jumped onto a creature each and gave them a small kick, and with a slight lurch they were heading back to their destination. It was a long, slow ride across the rough terrain, and yet the two kids lay unconsciousness for the remainder of the trek.

They had about a half hour of the journey left to go and so they decided they deserved a break, along with the ostrich horses who were exhausted. At the speed they were going it would be another hour to get to where they needed. They grabbed the kids and threw them to the ground with no sense of caring if they got hurt in the process, so that the ostrich horses could lie on the soft grass.

After ten minutes of resting they were ready to finish their journey. Reluctantly, they propped themselves up using their elbows and stood up slowly, stretching their legs as they stood up straight. Once again, they flung the unconscious teenagers onto the back of the ostrich horses and started off again, heading for the opposite side of the island.

After their estimated time of half an hour they arrived at the water's edge where a ship was docked, floating on the water. The size of the metal ship was intimidating as they stared up at it. This part of Ember Island was deserted, perfect for a quick get away. A part of the bow of the ship slowly lowered causing the Yu Yan archers to step backward a few paces. It let out a screeching sound and steam billowed from its sides. They left the ostrich horses behind as they carried the teenagers up the ramp and onto the deck.

They walked down the stairs so that they were below deck and shoved the two kids in a cabin, acting as their room for the rest of the time that they were imprisoned there. They handcuffed their hands behind their backs and left them on the ground, propped up against each other lazily. Just before they closed the door behind them, one of the Yu Yan archers sneered in a low, gruff voice, "Welcome home, Prince Zuko," spitting his title. The door was slammed shut and a lock was put in place and it was silent once more.

Hours had passed and the scarred boy awoke in the dank room, adjusting his eyes to the darkness. The first thing that hit him was the throbbing pain in his head; he had a terrible headache that pounded in his skull. He attempted to put his hand to his head but found that he couldn't. The next thing that struck him was the fact that his hands were tied...no handcuffed behind his back.

He looked to his left and found an unconscious girl lying next to him, her mouth hanging open. He breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed her inhaling and exhaling equal, soft breaths and her chest rising and falling slowly. She looked so peaceful and calm, but he figured that would change when she awoke from her deep sleep.

He got up a little awkwardly and wandered around the dark room. He found a wax candle and using his breath of fire lit it. It immediately extracted a sweet scent that wafted throughout the room and illuminated a small amount of light in the room. It was then that he realized where he was. _My ship? They are on my ship?! _Steam rose up from his body and he tried to calm himself down. He took in a few deep breaths and sat on the floor near the girl, he closed his eyes and attempted to meditate. After a few short moments the steam had vanished and he was relaxed again.

At this point the girl stirred and opened up her cerulean eyes that even he could see in the dim light. She sat up awkwardly due to her hands being bounded behind her back and blinked questionably. "Zuko?"

"Yeah Katara, it's me," he said softly unable to look into her eyes.

"W-What happened to us?"

"Well to my knowledge we got captured and they are now holding us on my ship," Zuko explained knowingly and a little irritated.

She gasped at the knowledge that she now possessed. _How was it so easy for a master waterbender and one of the greatest firebenders to be captured whilst holidaying with our friends? Where are the rest of the gaang? D they already know we have been captured and are imprisoned on a ship, or are they yet to discover our disappearance, or worse, have they been captured as well? _So many questions were buzzing in her mind but with little to no answers for them all._ What is going to happen to us now?_

"So what's our plan?" She asked seriously.

"Well first, let's work out a way to get out of these handcuffs," he responded while shaking his hands vigorously in frustration.

She nodded swiftly and an idea came to her head instantly. "Move towards the candle and turn around," she ordered.

He did so without question and Katara distinctively moved over to him and looked at his wrists that had already turned red due to lack of circulation because of the small cuffs. She felt a tingling sensation in her throat and knew she could do it. She breathed out cold air that froze on the lock of the handcuffs. She began to look around and discovered a bed...more of a mattress that was held up off the ground by four cylindrical, metal poles.

"Zuko, can you hit your handcuffs as hard as you can against that pole?"

He nodded and awkwardly moved over to the bed, shuffling his knees along the hard floor. When he was about a metre away from it, he turned around and pushed out his arms against the metal pole as hard as he could. There was a cracking sound and his handcuffs were spilt in two. He brought his hands around to the front and took off the two pieces of the cuffs, rubbing his sore wrists.

"Thanks, Katara," Zuko said relieved. "Now, how to get your cuffs off," he thought aloud, his eyebrows knitted together. He looked around the room and his eyes fell on an object. "The flag!" he blurted out making Katara jump.

"Zuko! You nearly gave me a heart attack," she shouted irritated.

"Oh, sorry Katara," he said with a goofy smile.

She returned the smile and inquired curiously, "What do you mean 'the flag'? That one on the wall?" She indicated to a red flag with the fire nation insignia woven into the fabric that hung on the wall.

"Yeah, but it's what's behind the flag that's important."

He stood up and strode over to the flag lifting it up and hid his face behind it as he opened a secret compartment and retrieved a small dagger. He closed the small door and walked back toward Katara. "Hold still."

She did as he said and he swiped at the cuffs with his dagger with one swift motion holding its black handle firmly. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard her cuffs clatter to the ground and just like Zuko she rubbed her wrists.

"So, what now? Any secret exits in this room by any chance?" She asked a little hopefully, but knowing full well what the answer was going to be.

"I'm afraid not," he replied, turning the dagger around in his fingers absent-mindly. He looked into Katara's eyes for the first time since they had been in here, her eyes full of hope. "We're going to get out of here you know."

"Yeah, I know," she said smiling slightly.


	2. Left Below Without Fire

**Thanks for the reviews/alerts! I had writer's block, but after reading AvatarFanGirlWrites4ever's review I got an idea. Oh, and I've never written in a character's p.o.v before so don't hate me if it's bad lol, but just tell me if it is and I shall never do it again...or improve haha whatever works the best. Thanks! And I shall dedicate Zuko's awesome dagger to Fall Out Disturbia, which may come later in the fic. And thanks to chasemycars and ArrayePL.**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 2: Left Below Without Fire

**Zuko POV**

How could I have got Katara into this mess? She probably hates me now, not that we have been the best of friends anyway. Well after we found the man who killed her mum she has accepted me as a friend, and that night I also told her about my mum. She has also been comforting me a lot after I found out that uncle had been imprisoned. All I have ever done to her and her friends is hurt them, and now Katara has been captured. I feel terrible, it's all my fault. We are stuck in my old room, with only a candle as our light source and one bed without sheets or a pillow for comfort.

We haven't even eaten yet and I can see a few bruises coming to her surface on her face. What I would do to get her out of here safely. But I can tell, she still has hope, and so with that we can get out of here. I know this ship inside and out, so all we have to do is loosen the hinges on the door, break it down, fight our way off the boat and Katara can waterbend us to shore...well I think she can. But somehow I don't think it is going to be that easy.

I was jolted from my thoughts when someone called gruffly from the opposite side of the door "Food! Step away from the door."

Finally, some food, I was wondering if they were going to ever bother feeding us. I glimpsed Katara make a swift movement with her hands, putting them behind her back as if she was hiding them from prying eyes. Then it hit me, if they found out we had broke our cuffs they would probably put us in chains. I quickly placed my hands behind my back as well just as a skinny but muscular man with stubble on his chin walked into the room. He acknowledged us with a grunt and threw a tray of food on the ground and slid two cups along the floor with liquid inside, sloshing its contents. "Don't make any stupid moves, or you will face the consequences," he growled at us.

But Katara and I weren't really paying attention to his threats, we had already started greedily eating the small amounts of food on the tray awkwardly_._ The man grunted again and walked out of the room, his heavy boots clunking with each step he took on the metal floor and slid the lock back into place. Secondas later his footsteps were only echoes in the distance.

Diminishing our fake act of having our hands bound behind our backs I picked up my cup and looked inside at its contents screwing up my face. I questioned before drinking, but not expecting an answer from Katara, "How did they expect us to drink this without using our hands?"

She just shrugged and mumbled something inaudible and kept filling her mouth with food. So I gulped down half of the contents in the cup I was given, when I gagged at the foul taste. "Argh, and as if it couldn't get any worse, this is horrible."

Katara giggled quietly but I ignored her, I know I won't be heating her drink up; I figured if I warmed it up it would taste better. I placed my hands at the base of the cup firmly and attempted to heat it, but I couldn't; only a bit of steam rose from my fingertips. Nonetheless I tried again, but to no avail. I began to get suspicious, and so I placed the cup down carefully and stood up, shifting into my bending position. I saw Katara eyeing me curiously as I punched a fist in front of me as my attempt to firebend, but again nothing. I yelled in aggravation, and I suddenly realised. "I knew it! I should've realised it before," I said to myself aloud, frustrated.

"Zuko, what happened? Why can't you bend?" Katara asked in a shocked tone, I knew she was genuine with worry.

"Because of that." I indicated to the half filled cup. "The fire nation has a special substance that they pour into drinks, which causes benders to well...be unable to bend. I think it's called 'Chi Block'."

Katara gaped at me. "How could they do that?"

I simply shrugged, irritated at the thought. I looked up to see Katara bend the water from her cup into the air just above it and she separated the substance liable to make you unable to bend from the water. She let the clean water fall back into the cup as the Chi Block descended to the floor. She then took in a breath and drank the water in one go.

Without hesitation she stood up and using the liquid that she bent out of her water, lifted her arms up and the Chi Block followed her smooth movements. I quietly thanked Agni that she could still bend and I'm sure she did too. Katara was looking at me sympathetically and as she did so, Katara bent the Chi Block out of my water as well and offered me the cup of clear drinking water. I drank it thankfully, although still irritated that my bending abilities were temporarily on hold.

I paced the room thinking of an escape plan. I now know that the people who captured us suspect that we are unable to bend. I looked to the ceiling in deep thought and accidentally knocked into a lone table. I rubbed my now sore knee, while I noticed Katara whirl around and reach for her waterskin at her waist. She looked up and distinctively realised that the noise had only been me, but it seemed that she did not relax.

"Oh no, they've took my waterskin," she said to me panicky.

I laughed and looked at Katara's shocked face and she laughed along with me. _The last time I saw Zuko laugh was...well I can't remember the last time he laughed._ "Well did you honestly believe that they would leave you to waterwhip them or freeze-"

I stopped in mid-sentence as I heard the door unlock with a loud click. The door creaked open inwardly and a horrible man that I knew all too well stepped inside with a smug face. He took no notice of the fact that our hands weren't bound behind our backs.

"Hello, Prince Zuko," he sneered at me.

"Zhao?! What are you doing here?" I questioned angrily.

"Weren't you ever taught to be civil Zuko? Maybe you should've learnt a thing or two from Iroh. He's a nice man."

Realisation struck me. "It Was You? What have you done to him?"

"Oh, he's ok…for now," he teased nastily.

"I thought you had died!"

"You sound so disappointed Zuko. But that's what I wanted everyone to think, that I had been killed at the North Pole, no thanks to you. Now I'm going to use you to help me capture the Avatar."

"Never!" I shouted.

"Hm, well maybe I'll just take your girlfriend over here instead," he stated, a smirk plastered on his face. He walked up to her Katara but she was not intimidated.

I don't know what triggered me to do it but I spat in his face and Zhao grimaced. "Protective are we?" He asked, wiping the saliva off his face in disgust.

"Don't you dare touch her with your filthy hands you dirty, rottoen scumbag," I said through gritted teeth, taking a tentative step toward him. If my chi wasn't blocked I would have steam billowing off of me.

Zhao just smirked and said, "I will be seeing you two later." He left the room and slammed the door shut, with a loud crash.

"Yeah, I'll be seeing you when we break out of here and break you," I muttered under my breath aggravated. "Out of all the people, why did _he _have to capture us? And why on _my _ship?" I growled.

"Zuko, don't let him get to you, that's what he wants," she said softly, in a caring tone.

To my surprise I sighed and nodded in agreement. "Thank you Katara," I said genuinely, but not exactly knowing why. I bowed to her in the normal fire nation way and she bowed back.

"I wander what the time is," I thought aloud.

But Katara decided to respond. "Well I felt my waterbending get stronger a few hours ago. So it must be around ten."

"Hm, well I'm getting tired," I said yawning.

"Yeah, so am I."

"I'm sorry it's not much, but at least the mattress is soft for you," I said sincerely, attempting a smile.

"But what about you?"

"I'll be fine, I'll sleep on the floor."

"You can't do that. Your back will be aching in the morning."

I shrugged and said, "Well what else am I meant to do?"

"Well you could sleep on the mattress."

"And let you sleep on the ground? No way!" I wasn't going to let Katara sleep on the floor tonight, she will probably freeze and as she said her back will be aching in the morning.

"No, I meant, uh, we both share."

"Oh...well if your sure," I said rubbing the back of my neck. I hate awkward situations.

She nodded swiftly and laid on the bed facing me. I blew out the candle knowing full well that I wouldn't be able to light it again for a while and walked over to the bed. The mattress sagged a little as I laid on it and memories flooded back into my mind about the nights I spent here. But tonight I ignored them and felt the gentle waves that crashed against the ship as it moved the ship along. I could hear the faint sound of the water and the wind whoosing. I had never really liked the sea but tonight I made it an exception, and just before sleep took over me the last thing I saw was Katara's smiling eyes.

* * *

**There was something about this chapter that I didn't like as much..I'm not sure what. Maybe it wasn't as good as the first. But it would be appreciated if you could all tell me. I will try and make the next one better! Thanks for reading.**


	3. Bending Of The Unknown

**Any confusion about when this is set/why Zuko's ship isn't destroyed read the A/N at the bottom. Thanks again to my wonderful reviewers and those who added this story to their favs or alerts. Sorry this is shorter..enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Bending Of The Unknown**

Katara awoke with a start and looked around her frantically, only to see a sleeping figure breathing softly next to her. She slowly laid back down and let out a puff of air. She gazed over at the door, which she could barely make out in the sea of darkness that enveloped her. But what guided her gaze to it was the moon's glow that crept underneath the door.

_It's a full moon tonight, I can feel the ocean calling me, pushing and pulling. And I can't even enjoy Yue's beauty tonight, I'm stuck inside a room with my ex-enemy. I wonder if the gaang are thinking about me? Are they looking for us? Or are they already here? I don't want to be stuck in this retched place for too much longer, they might put some of that Chi Block in my food next! I probably won't get to bathe either. All I want is to smell the fresh air and watch my reflection dance in the running water. _Katara sat up again when she heard a familiar sound.

Faint talking was heard on the ship, conversations were in harsh whispers, but only few words were exchanged. The ship lurched forward and abruptly came to a complete stand still as smoke ceased to surge from its chimney's.

Zuko woke up from his soundless sleep, although it had been quite restless, for he had to come to terms with what was happening. Zuko jumped off of the mattress and landed with his two feet firmly on the ground and in one smooth transition was in his offensive stance. Although, it soon came to him that he was unable to bend and that there was no danger afoot, he then reluctantly let his arms go limp and sighed.

Katara landed on the ground delicately near him and took a tentative step toward him. She then suddenly slapped her forehead with her palm. "I can't believe I forgot."

Zuko turned around and looked at her skeptically and she began to explain."I can take that weird liquid out of your body that's blocking off your chi!"

For a moment Zuko had hope that he was going to get his bending back, but it diminished when he realised that she couldn't. His demeanor changed from hopeful to a joyless expression. "No, you can't. It gets into your blood system and you can't bend that." He sighed. "But it doesn't matter."

"Well blood is..." Katara trailed off.

Zuko looked at her expectantly and she waved a hand dismissively. "No, it doesn't matter. We'll just have to wait."

"No, what were you going to say, blood is what?" He inquired curiously, a crease showing on his forehead.

After a few moments Katara opened her mouth to respond but shut it again. She looked worried, her brows were furrowed and her lips were pursed together. Zuko realised that he shouldn't have urged her on when he saw it, tears, forming in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, don't worry about it Katara," he said quickly.

_Please don't cry. I don't know how to deal with a girl crying. Mai never cried. Why are girls so…emotional?_

Katara looked down and shook her head. Zuko watched as the unshed tears in her bright, blue eyes began to fall. He saw a lone tear slide down her cheek and Zuko sighed patiently. "Katara, please whatever it is you don't have to worry about it. Let's just forget it."

_Congratulations Katara, you're a bloodbender! _She started to repeat the mantra over in her head but shook it out, she needed to ignore it. She stopped sobbing but tears still fell from her eyes and streamed down her tear streaked cheeks. Zuko decided to comfort her and he nervously wrapped his arm around her just above her waist and she leaned her head against his shoulder as he wiped a tear away from her cheek. But she didn't pay much attention to Zuko, although she did feel her cheeks get hot and they turned a crimson colour.

She sniffed and asked, "How long does the Chi Block last for?"

"Well it depends how strong it is. But seeing as thout Zhao has got his hands on it, it could be days."

"Do you really want your bending back?"

Zuko withdrew his arm from her body and said disappointingly, "Well honestly I would really like it back, it's a part of me, it feels as if my inner fire has been snuffed out. And without my Dao swords I feel so defenseless and vulnerable, I wouldn't forgive myself if any harm came to you because I couldn't bend. But, there is nothing you can do, so we might have to just wait a few more days until we get out of here."

Building up the courage Katara said, "Well...maybe not. There is a way."

"Katara, I've already told you, the-" he tried to explain but she cut him off.

"Listen, Zuko, if it's what you want I can bend the Chi Block out of your blood system." There was a short pause and then she finished quietly, "I can bloodbend."

"W-what? How?" He looked at her shocked.

Her eyes looked downcast and she replied melancholy, "I'd rather not talk about it."

Zuko noticed the tone of her voice and mentally kicked himself. _Why can't I ever say the right thing around girls?_ "Well Katara it's completely up to you."

She faltered a smile and nodded curtly. Katara indicated for Zuko to lie on the bed and he did so, laying on his back, his chest rising and falling with calm breaths. Katara knelt on the ground feeling the coldness of the metal floor on her knees and tried to get comfortable.

Zuko laid still as she closed her eyes and concentrated. She placed her hands on his stomach and could feel his blood pumping through his veins, and there she could feel the Chi Block running alongside it. Katara took in a deep breath and moved her arms in a circular motion and then moved them upwards. Through his mouth came the Chi Block in one long stream. She did this for a few more seconds when she let the Chi Block fall to the floor. Katara then regained her place with her hands over his stomach and felt his chi flowing through his body smoothly. She smiled to herself at her achievement and felt his inner fire burning bright once more and he could feel it too.

"Do you think you could light that candle Zuko, it's dark in here."

He smirked and got up off the bed and in a mere couple of strides he was at the wax candle. But just before he lit it, the ship jerked to the side and he stumbled. Shouts were heard from the deck and people were scurrying around frantically above them. The sound of their heavy boots clunking was magnified when the sound travelled below deck. Katara and Zuko shot a questioning glance at each other unable to figure out what was going on only metres away from them. _Could this be our chance to escape?_

* * *

**Ok well, incase it confused anyone, this isn't set exactly in the Avatar storyline, it was just like a side story that came to mind!! BUT, you could have it that it is set when the gaang went to Ember Island just before Sozin's Comet but you have to pretend Zuko's boat didn't get destroyed nor is it so close to Sozin's Comet. Any questions about it just pm me or put it in a review. **


	4. Left Behind Or Lies

**Chapter 4: Left Behind Or Lies**

_**Continued…**__Shouts were heard from the deck and people were scurrying around frantically above them. The sound of their heavy boots clunking was magnified when the sound travelled below deck. Katara and Zuko shot a questioning glance at each other unable to figure out what was going on only metres away from them.__ Could this be our chance to escape?_

Zuko turned to Katara, his amber eyes meeting her cerulean ones and asked seriously, "Katara, if we get off this ship, is it possible for you to take us to shore?"

"Uh, I think I can," she said a little uncertainly.

He nodded in reply and retrieved his pearl dagger from the compartment behind the fire nation flag. Zuko stared intently at its blade and in one swift movement he swiped at the hinges on the door continuously until they became loose.

Before he opened the door he looked back to Katara. "I don't know what's going on out there, but as far as I'm concerned they are all our enemies. So just follow my lead and keep alert!"

Keeping her determined demeanor, Katara nodded. Zuko slid the dagger under the bed and opened the door and it fell inwardly with an amazingly loud crash, but it was drowned out by the fighting that had just commenced on deck and the shouts of distress and anger that were heard.

Zuko began to race upstairs and as he did so he distinctively noticed that pirates had boarded the…_his_ ship and were engaged in combat with Zhao and his men. But to Zuko's dismay the pirates were losing, and to make it worse Zhao had glimpsed his two prisoners escaping.

He began to chase the two teens, following the blue clothing that Katara wore swishing in the wind as they dodged and maneuvered random attacks that were unleashed by either the pirates or fire nation on their enemies. As they were running for their lives, to Zuko's astonishment, Zhao skidded to a halt in front of them, his arms outstrecthed ready to unleash he's deadly power on the two.

Zuko pleaded to Agni that he had retained his bending as he shifted into his offensive stance. Without hesitation he unleashed volleys of fire at Zhao from his fists before he could return one punch. Zhao was caught off guard not expecting Zuko to be able to bend and the blow of the attack sent him flying backwards. Without a backward glance the duo began running again in the opposite direction, anywhere where they could get off the ship and away from Zhao.

Water ascended from the ocean that lay beneath them and that girt the ship as Katara what whipped a few people and continuously sent jets of water behind her at random, not caring who she hit. But in unison Zhao, who was hot on their heels, had sent a fire blast at the two, which enveloped her water jets and hit Zuko's shoulder. He suppressed a scream at the pain in his shoulder and kept running, stumbling with his first few steps.

"You're not getting away from me!" Zhao shouted from behind. "You have nowhere to go! And are you really going to leave your friends behind?" He smirked.

Zuko slowed down a bit but nonetheless kept running. "Zuko," Katara breathed; sadness in her eyes.

"I know," he responded solemnly.

He slowed down even more and motioned for Katara to stand behind him. Zuko grunted and created a wall of fire in front of him, blocking off everyone on the ship from himself and Katara. As he kept the flames of wall burning he asked seriously, "Katara, what do you want to do?"

She pondered her decision and closed her eyes that were shining with more tears. "We'll stay. We don't even know where to go from here."_ I only hope Aang will get here quickly to save us._

Zuko bowed his head in acknowledgment to her decision and lowered his arms diminishing the wall of fire as he did so. Zhao stared at them, evilness crossing his face as de ja vu struck when two Yu Yan archers hit Zuko and Katara knocking them out cold. Zhao smiled to himself and continued finishing the battle with the pirates.

* * *

_**The morning of Zuko and Katara's disappearance.**_

The sun's beam showed its face through Sokka's window and shone on his sleeping eyes, which he attempted to keep them closed. He mumbled, "Just five more minutes."

Until there was a loud crash that caused him to jump out of bed a little reluctantly and grab his boomerang, slinging his sheathed machete over his shoulder that clung to his back. There was another crash and he sprinted out of his room heading toward the noise. He got outside and looked around frantically for the cause of the disturbance. He held his boomerang above his head and yelled out a loud war cry when a rock came soaring toward his head.

"You missed me Toph," Aang said triumphantly.

"I wasn't trying to hit you Twinkletoes," she replied with a smirk pointing a finger to something behind him.

Aang turned around to find Sokka slowly standing up rubbing his head where there was a red mark forming. "Hey, what was that for?"

Toph shrugged nonchalantly and replied, "Dunno, felt like it."

Aang laughed at Sokka's expression as he stared at Toph in disbelief. Nonetheless he regained himself and asked, "Hey, where's the meat? I'm starving."

"I don't know, I can't find Sugar Queen or Sparky."

"Wait! Are you saying that my sister and Zuko are missing?!...And that there's no meat?" He questioned waving his arms in the air dramatically.

"Calm down Snoozles, I'm sure they've just gone to collect some fire wood or food or something."

"Or maybe they've gone to practice airbending," Sokka said sarcastically, his eyes wide in annoyance at their being so oblivious.

"Sokka, I'm sure Toph is right. Before you know it they'll be back and you will be eating your meat," Aang told him reassuringly, although upset at Sokka's obsession with meat.

Sokka relaxed slightly and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right." He stretched and yawned. "Well while we're waiting for them to get back I'm going back to bed."

"But Sokka how can you go..." Aang trailed off noticing Sokka had already disappeared back into the house.

_Two hours later..._

"Ok, now I'm really starting to get worried about Katara," Aang said panicky.

"I knew it! We couldn't trust Zuko!" Sokka exclaimed throwing his arms up in the air in annoyance.

"Well we don't know that for sure. Anything could have happened," Toph said knowingly.

"Oh yeah, maybe a badger mole came along and ate them," Sokka told her sarcastically.

Toph gigled slighty and explained, "Enough with the sarcasm Snoozles! Let's just go and investigate. I know that every morning when the sun has been rising Zuko's gone out to sit on the beach, maybe you should go check there."

Aang and Sokka scouted the beach looking for clues, but to no avail, and just as they were about to give up Sokka called motioning with his hand, "Aang over here!"

Aang ran over to Sokka with the help of his bending and looked at the indentations of the footprints left behind in the sand. Although, there was more than just Zuko's footprints.

"So if that's Zuko's footprints and that's Katara's..." Aang started slowly, indicating to the different footmarks.

"Then those other two sets is definitely someone else's, and my intentions are telling me they aren't good," Sokka finished Aang's sentence grinning with pride at his new found discovery.

They looked at each other with grief stricken faces and ran back to Toph to tell her the news.

* * *

The trio discovered ostrich footprints along the rough road where the footprints on the beach had lead them.

"Well to my knowledge of this place and its roads, this one follows right to the other side of the island," Aang said inspecting the footprints.

"So you're saying that we follow the road until we get to the other side?" Sokka questioned.

"Well that depends if they took Katara and Zuko right to the end. So we will take Appa and every now and then go lower to check if we're still following the path."

Sokka and Toph nodded in agreement and they went to saddle up Appa.

After five minutes of getting Appa ready they were in the air, following the rough terrain.

A long, boring and uneventful hour had passed and Aang dipped Appa again to check that they were still following the ostrich horses footprints.

"Need food," Sokka moaned.

"I brought some berries that we can eat," Aang said brightly.

Sokka laid sprawled out on his back in the saddle. "I'm so sick of berries, we need some meat," Sokka whined.

"Well I'm sorry Sokka, but we have more important things at hand than meat!" Aang told him, annoyance in his tone.

Sokka sighed. "Fine, give me some of those berries."

Aang spilt the berries between the three and they ate in silence.

Eventually, they reached the edge of the island where the road came to an abrupt end and stared out over the ocean shielding their eyes from the sun's rays. They jumped off Appa, and Sokka looked where the footprints ended and announced, "Well either they started to swim or they turned around and stayed on the ostrich horses."

Realisation hit Aang, "Wasn't this the place where Zuko docked his ship?"

Toph laughed, "Maybe they had enough of you two and ran away to be together."

They both shot a disapproving look at Toph but she took no notice of their irritated attitude.

"Come on Appa, we need to go find Zuko's ship," Aang told his friend whilst petting him. They jumped back onto Appa and Aang called, "Yip, yip!"

* * *

**The last half was so irritating to write, I had to change it a few times. I think too much dialogue not enough description..maybe? Well I hope you all liked it! Thank you once again to all my reviewers, I wouldn't have kept this fic going if it weren't for you!  
Note: Katara & Zuko distinctively think that the gaang is all on the ship except for Aang as Zhao wanted to capture Aang and they would know about it...Just in case anyone was confused. Review please. **


	5. Never Give Up Without A Fight

**Chapter 5: Never Give Up Without A Fight**

His eyes were blurred and he was groggy as his eyes adjusted to his new surroundings. He blinked furiously and held his shoulder when the agonizing pain hit him and shot up his arm. He heard a scratching sound and looked up to see Zhao sitting in a chair across from him. The boy was also sitting in a comfortable chair, and to his surprise wasn't chained or handcuffed to it.

His voice was gritty and soft as he managed to call out for Katara. He got up off the chair and cleared his throat staggering back slightly from being unbalanced due to his bad shoulder.

He growled in frustration, "Where is Katara?" When there was no response he yelled, "Tell me! Where is Katara?" His voice echoed off the walls but Zhao seemed to be unmoved by his sudden outburst. He just sat still and stared into Zuko's hateful, golden eyes.

Zuko went to the door and pulled at the handle, contorting it slightly and rattled the door furiously, but to no avail. He turned and willed himself to look into the smug eyes of one of the people he hated most in his life, one of the people who he wished dead without any remorse.

Zuko moved into his firebending stance and aimed his two index fingers at Zhao but only a few sparks erupted from them.

Zhao interwove his fingers with each other and sat them in front of him on the desk, his demeanor calm and collected. "It won't work Zuko; you always seem to fail at everything don't you?" He questioned mockingly.

"What have you done to Katara?" He asked in a harsh whisper, his teeth clenched together.

He laughed and leant back in his chair nonchantly. "Don't worry Zuko, she's fine, just a few scratches."

"If you dared lay a finger on her…" Zuko threatened menacingly, hatred dripping off every word.

"Oh Zuko, stop worrying about your girlfriend and come sit down," Zhao indicated to the seat opposite to him, but Zuko kept his place. "Very well then," he said a little more darkly. "What I want to know, is that why is it taking your friend so long to get here? Usually the Avatar can trace everyone especially his friends, or weren't he with you and your little friends on Ember Island?"

But Zuko did not move nor say anything, he did not seem to even acknowledge the fact that Zhao was trying to engage a conversation with him. Zuko stood firmly his eyes planted on a crack on the wall so not to look into Zhao's smug eyes. His fists were clenched in anger and his breathing was heavy.

"Come on Zuko, a man to man chat. Just tell me what I want to hear."

Ignoring what Zhao had said he asked, "How was it that you managed to capture all my friends but not Aang?"

Zhao faltered a little but it went unnoticed by Zuko. "Well he got away didn't he? He _is _the Avatar after all. Plus your friends are weak and were easily captured, just like you and your little peasant girlfriend. Now if you will excuse me I have things to do, so we will continue our little talk later. Katsu! Takeshi! Get him out of my sight!"

Two burly men, their faces hidden, walked into the room and one grabbed Zuko roughly as the other lead them both to Zuko's old room. As Takeshi held Zuko's wrist together and held the back of his ripped shirt tightly with his other hand he whispered urgently in Zuko's ear, "Your uncle is on the ship, your friends are not."

Zuko looked behind him bewildered, but Takeshi slapped his head and he turned back around, now with a throbbing pain in both his shoulder and skull. Katsu opened the door and Takeshi pushed him in roughly, and quickly the refurnished door was shutting behind Zuko without any noises from its hinges. Zuko shot one more glance toward Takeshi as the shadow of the door enveloped him, and then he was gone.

"Zuko!" Katara said running up to hug him. "I was so worried."

He flinched when she touched his shoulder and she quickly withdrew her arms looking at his wound and his pain stricken face.

"Are you ok?" He asked caringly.

"Yes, I'm fine." She looked down. "Do you think it was a bad idea to stay here?"

"Katara, I don't know. Well I didn't know." He dropped his voice slightly. "But that guard just told me that my uncle is here, but the others aren't."

"What? Really? Do you believe him?" She questioned.

Zuko replied slowly, "Well I'd rather believe him than Zhao and he did sound genuine. But if he is here, and we get him out safely, then it definitely wasn't a waste of time staying behind." He smiled at her reassuringly and she returned a warm smile.

The first thing that Zuko checked was that his pearl dagger was still safe and untouched underneath the bed, in which it was. He retrieved it from its place and ran his fingers along the superior craftsmanship as he sat on the floor. His gaze was focused on its inscription and he read quietly to himself, _´Never Give Up Without A Fight'_. Zuko with his new found courage suggested, "I think I know how we can get out of here." A smile creeping upon his face. Even Katara could see his eyes twinkling in the dark.

Katara waited expectantly for more and he said, "But we will have to wait to get our bending back first."

It was Katara's turn to smile and she told him mischievously, "Well, when the guards thought I was still knocked out they were going to give me some of that Chi Block stuff. But they were too busy talking to notice that I woke up and bent it out, so all I drank was some refreshing water."

Zuko chuckled at Katara's attitude toward bending the rules, watching her smiling eyes.

"As soon as we get some water I'll heal that burn on your shoulder."

He nodded in thanks and let out a sigh of relief that he would be rid of his burn soon; he didn't want another scar to add to his collection.

"So if it's true that your uncle is here, then where do you think he would be?"

"Well there isn't exactly a prison cell or any secret trap doors anywhere, so my best bet would be that he is somewhere near Zhao who is probably at the wheel with plenty of guards surrounding him. That's why we will need our bending."

"Well if we're lucky, that guard will come back and give us a little more information."

They sat in the dark in silence, leaning against each other, for they were the only company that they had. But by not exchanging words with one another their minds were left to wander freely. Katara thought about their situation, although, it wasn't long until she was thinking about the gaang, her brother, her dad, her mum, Zuko. The people who she was so close to, but everyone except for Zuko was so far away from her, out of her reach, out of her grasp. She couldn't see them nor talk to them, no interaction was possible in her situation. And it was then that she thought _What happened if we don't make it out alive. If Aang doesn't come and Zhao decides to…_Trying to shake that thought out of her mind she leant into Zuko further and closed her eyes gently.

* * *

"This Jasmine Tea is very nice," the old man said curtly taking a sip of his tea. "But I can not help to wonder why you are sailing further away from the Avatar," he questioned in a grave voice.

"Well you see Iroh," Zhao said, turning towards him. "They have that flying bison creature and can catch us easily. But by moving away from the Avatar it takes us closer to the Fire Nation," he smirked.

Iroh shrugged and stood up in his enclosure made up of a metal ceiling and vertical bars that surrounded him, acting as a small cell. "May I have some more tea, please?" He asked kindly.

Iroh got given some more tea and asked Zhao who was scanning the ocean, his eyes narrowing, "Are you up for a game of Pai Sho? I have my lucky tile," he asked joyfully, a wide grin forming on his face.

* * *

**I liked this chapter. I hope you did too! Updates may become slower because of exmas etc but I will try my best to get them up in a few days. Please review.**


	6. Warrior's Wolf Tail

**Chapter 6: Warrior's Wolf Tail**

"Look, Toph, over there, there's Zuko's ship!" Sokka yelled ecstatically bouncing up and down on Appa's saddle pointing in the distance.

The gaang, or what was left of it for the present moment, had continued their journey across the ocean to locate the whereabouts of the ex-fire prince's ship. They were eager to find Katara and Zuko safe.

"Yes, Ponytail, I _see_ it," she said sarcastically, putting emphasis on the word _see_. "I knew you were stupid, but honestly, I'm blind!" She yelled angrily pointing to her unseeing eyes.

"Oh right, I forgot," he said apologetically, rubbing his arm nervously. "Hey wait, why do you call me Ponytail?" He whined.

"Um, maybe because you have a ponytail," she replied knowingly, snickering to herself.

"Hey, this is a Warrior's Wolf Tail!" He explained annoyingly. "Not a ponytail," he ended with a definite finish to their conversation.

"Whatever…" she replied, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.

He crossed his arms and turned away from Toph, ignoring her. She leant over the side of Appa's saddle and blew her bangs out of her face. "…Ponytail."

He yelled out in frustration, throwing his arms in the air. He shot her an annoyed look when Toph laughed at his aggravation. While Aang called from his place on Appa's head, his voice travelling away in the wind, "Not too long now and we will catch up with them." He then said to Appa, "Good work boy, just keep going a little longer, we need to save Katara and Zuko."

Appa groaned in acknowledgment and began to fly slightly more faster.

* * *

"Ok done," she said, relief washing over her, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow that was tempting to roll down her face.

"Thanks again Katara," he said earnestly.

"It's fine. It was just really hard to do without the full moon, but I seemed to gather enough power from a near full moon."

He smiled gratefully and got off the bed, loosening his muscles and shooting random fire blasts around the room. "Feels good too have it back."

"So, are we still going with our plan?"

"Yeah, I think it's our best shot at getting out of here and getting my Uncle off this ship safely."

She nodded determinedly.

"So now, we wait."

"Now we wait," Katara mimicked, nodding her head.

There was a pause, until Katara broke the silence, facing toward Zuko. "Zuko, I am really glad that you're here with me. I wouldn't have had the slightest idea on how to get off this ship without your help."

"I want to thank you for everything too. This would have been much harder to deal with, without you. I wouldn't have my bending for one. So what I'm trying to say is that if I had a choice of who I'd want to be imprisoned on my own ship with, it would be you."

She snorted, "Imprisoned in your own ship, who would have imagined it."

They stared into each others eyes momentarily. _Oh my gosh. Am I thinking of…kissing _him_…The one who has been my enemy for so many years?_

_I hate awkward situations. Why won't she just avert her eyes to something different?_

The silence lingered on, and their faces were now only inches apart, looking into each others eyes deeply, as if they could see millions of memories that were hidden behind them. Their heads were cocked to the side, but only slightly, and their lips were parted...

The silence was once again interrupted, but this time it was by the door being swung open vigorously. Katara and Zuko jumped away from each other, but the man at the door didn't pay any attention to how uncomfortably close they had been to each other. He held a tray in his hands, and as soon as he stepped over the threshold Zuko had him pinned against the wall. Zuko held his wrists tightly behind his back and pushed his head against the wall.

"P-please, let me go. I want to help you," he pleaded, lowering his voice to a whisper.

Zuko hesitated and loosened his grip slightly as he recognised the voice of Takeshi, but kept a firm grip.

"Please, Zhao has spotted the Avatar."

Katara gasped and Zuko suddenly let go of his grip on Takeshi and closed the door so he couldn't escape, unless he wanted to be water whipped by Katara. Takeshi turned around and explained, "The Avatar will be here soon, but Zhao has a plan to capture the Avatar, we're getting closer and closer to the Fire Nation as we speak."

"But how does he expect to capture Aang? He said so himself before, he _is _the Avatar, even if he _was_ incorporating that into his lie."

"He's going to take you..." Takeshi said indicating to Katara, "...as hostage and force the Avatar to take the Chi Block, then he will be powerless against Zhao."

Katara gasped again horrified.

"I'm sorry I have to go, but I wish you luck." He left the room quickly and just before shutting the door behind him he said, "Iroh is near the wheel, take this." He threw a key to Zuko that he merely caught between his fingers and they were Takeshi's last words as Katara and Zuko stared at each other in shock.

Zuko soon snapped out of it and said decisively, "You know what this means Katara, we need to get out of here now, get Uncle, and hopefully arrive on deck when Aang arrives."

"But we don't even know exactly how far away he is!"

"Oh, well we...um let me think." _Why didn't I think of that? Stupid, stupid, stupid._ Zuko paced the room, racking his brain for an idea. _Never Give Up Without A Fight. _He repeated the mantra in his head, trying to make sense of how he could use it.

* * *

"As soon as we land, we get Katara and Zuko and leave ok?"

Sokka and Toph agreed with Aang as they hovered above the ship. "Ok, let's do this."

They landed on the ship with an almighty thud and groan, courtesy of Appa, and were suddenly surrounded by fire nation men ready to attack. Toph felt the vibrations through the metal and without hesitation, pulled a piece from where she was standing and aimed it at a Yu Yan archer with precise precision in one swift action. Being too quick for him she struck him in the temple and he fell backward. Then the battle commenced.

But it didn't go for very long when Zhao called, "Avatar! I have your water tribe peasant. Surrender now and I will not hurt her."

Without hesitation Aang lowered his arms and Toph and Sokka followed suit.

Zhao smiled smugly and ordered Takeshi to bring out cups of water with the Chi Block mixed inside. He did so and came back seconds later with three cups. He handed them to the trio and they reluctantly drank it. Katara called to them, "You just drank Chi Block!"

Zhao punched her spine and she lurched forward. "Shut up peasant!"

Aang stared at her terrified, but Toph had immediately noticed her change in heart rate and distinctively knew that she was in fact lying. She whispered to Aang from the corner of her mouth, "She's lying."

Aang understood and held out his arms to be taken as prisoner. "Take him to where the prince is tied up," Zhao ordered.

Katsu handcuffed Aang and took him to Zuko's old room. There, Katsu was met by a blow to the stomach and Aang's handcuffs were sliced in the middle from the blade of the pearl dagger. Zuko looked at Aang and they smiled at each running back to the staircase. But before they got to the top Zuko held out an arm in front of Aang and he stopped, looking at Zuko bewildered.

Zuko whispered, "I need to get my Uncle first then we can grab the others and go."

As quick as Aang nodded Zuko was gone, keeping out of sight from everyone on board to reach his Uncle.

* * *

**Amazingly I got this chapter up quicker than I expected, even though I'll probably fail my Maths and First Aid tests but oh well haha. And I am also working on my other fic 'Adventurous journeys', feel free to check it out! Not sure how longer this fic is going to go on for. **


	7. Even Enemies Can Be Allies

**Chapter 7 : Even Enemies Can Be Allies**

"Uncle, what are you doing?" Zuko asked frantically.

"Drinking tea," he replied grinning, taking a sip from his cup thoughtfully. "And Nephew, what are you doing here?" He asked calmly.

"I am getting you off this ship."

He warned as an afterthought, "Uncle, don't drink that! You won't be able to bend."

Iroh looked up and smiled at his nephew from his cross legged position placing his cup on the ground softly. Zuko ignored his cheerful mood as he opened the door with the brass key. "Come on Uncle, we need to go, now!"

Iroh got up slowly and began to follow Zuko back to where Aang was hidden as they felt the ship lurch forward and come to a complete stand still.

Zuko looked at Aang's terrified, pale face and Zuko's face instantly fell at the sight of it. He peered over the staircase onto the deck where Toph, Katara and Sokka were tied to a pole. But Zuko's demeanor quickly changed again from a frown to a grief stricken face when he noticed Ozai, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee boarding the ship. Azula and Ozai wore smiles that could not be mistaken for smirks, while Mai kept her bored demeanor and Ty lee was grinning whilst standing on her hands.

"So you have the Avatar?" Ozai asked Zhao seriously.

"Yes, he's downstairs with your traitor son."

Ozai's smirked widened. "Two for one."

"So where's my end of the bargain?" Zhao asked pleased.

"Oh, well actually, this is the part where we double cross you and take the Avatar for ourselves. But thanks for the help," Ozai said mockingly.

Before Zhao had a chance to react Ty Lee had cart wheeled over to where he stood dumbfounded and jabbed him in his pressure points that left him to be unable to move; paralysed. She laughed happily and did another handstand.

"Azula go get the Avatar, we'll handle these amateurs," Ozai instructed. Azula nodded and headed off to the stairs where Zuko, Aang and Iroh were crouched. They quickly ran back down the stairs and into Zuko's old room. As she walked inside Aang caught her off guard and blew a strong gush of air at her that caused her to stumble backward and fall. Unfortunately, she stayed inches off the ground with the help of her lightning.

Azula jumped up and directed it at Aang whom Zuko jumped in front of and held it in his hands and body ready to redirect it. He targeted it back at her with all of his strength and she diverted it to the wall, which exploded, leaving a gaping hole. She narrowed her eyes and sent volleys of blue fire balls from her palms at Zuko.

Aang kicked out his leg and sent her flying backwards with his airbending. She hit the wall and slumped to the floor. Azula got back up determined to fight and stared at her three attackers that advanced on her and encircled her. Her eyes full of hatred she erected a fire wall and sent it outward toward the three. Iroh quickly stepped in and diverted it away from them. He had taken the handcuffs from Katsu who still laid on the floor unconscious and took Azula's wrists handcuffing them.

She struggled against her bonds and began to heat them up quickly. But the fight upstairs (or Toph, so Aang thought) caused the ceiling of the room to cave in and trapped Azula. Relieved, the three took one last look at her as they ran out of the collapsed room, her echoing screams of anger becoming faint background noises.

As they arrived on deck the gaang and Ozai, Mai and Ty Lee had just knocked out Zhao's men. Sokka was now occupied with Ty Lee and Toph with Mai. And finally Aang's grey eyes fell on the other pair fighting; Katara and Ozai. "Maybe I'll keep you too," Ozai said slyly as he hit Katara with a ball of fire that sent her flying backwards.

"Katara," Aang breathed.

Iroh and Zuko were swept of their feet by a sudden attack causing Aang to turn around and see Azula. He looked around at all his friends fighting with the enemy. His heart filled with rage, his iris' disappeared and were replaced by an ominous glow while his tattoos glowed the same in unison. Aang used the water that girt the ship to make a tunnel of water that spun that he aimed at Ozai. He then bent more water from the ocean and turned them into ice shards, which he aimed at Azula.

The gaang untied Appa and scrambled up his side as Sokka attempted to fly him above the ship. Aang floated up into the air, a ball of air surrounding him, and lifted the water from the ocean and unleashed a powerful wave that crashed onto the ship. The ship rocked to the side then tipped over. Aang's eyes began to return to his normal grey ones and his tattoos seized to glow and he fell limp.

Sokka flew Appa underneath Aang to catch him, and without a backward glance to the destroyed ship they flew as far away as they could from Ozai, from Zhao, from Azula, and most of all from the retched fire nation.

* * *

**This is not what I intended (haha sounds like 'Fall for you' by Secondhand Serenade) to write, it wasn't going to have Azula etc in it, but I kind of just wrote it, so I hoped you liked it like this. So thanks for reading. And also everyone check out 'Opposites Attract, But Never Can Be Together' by Primuler, which may be changed to 'Choice of Peace, Result of Chaos'. It gets better as the chapters go on!**


	8. Iroh's Story

**Chapter 8: Iroh's Story**

The gaang were continuing their short journey back to Ember Island and not a word had been traded between anyone. They had sat in complete silence looking up every so often to catch each other's eyes, staring back at one another before looking away again. But not even Iroh could say something wise nor could Sokka or Toph make any humorous remarks, or have a fight over nothing with each other. The silence was uncomfortable, awkward and for some, unbearable.

Varieties of thoughts were racing through their minds that reflected on the day's previous events. They couldn't have possibly killed anyone...right? They couldn't bare the fact of being murderers, even if it was the fire nation. They'd have the burden living with them for the rest of their lives.

The late afternoon began to get cold, a southerly change coming through, which was a change from the typical warmth of the crisp sun, especially as they were near the fire nation where it was humid all year round. The icy wind blew against the faces of the kids and Iroh that sent shivers down their spines as they crossed the vast ocean. Katara subconsciously inched closer to Zuko, feeling his inner fire heat radiating off him that extracted warmth for her body to heat up, tingling her skin. Of course Katara had been used to the cold at the South Pole, but Zhao had taken her parka and she had no track pants either, she was left with a simple blue and white top and skirt, which didn't do much to help protect her from the cold.

The gaang shivered as the wind howled and eventually the silence was broken. "Aang-," Katara started with a low, husky voice. Clearing her throat, she started again with a more confident voice and asked worriedly, "Aang, do you think it's a good idea to be heading back to Ember Island?"

"Why? Somehow I don't think we have many enemies to be worrying about at the moment," Aang responded with a half-hearted laugh, which did nothing to help lighten the mood.

"They could be on our trail right now," Katara said, urgency showing through her tone as her voice got louder and panicky.

"Well I-" Aang started but was interrupted by another voice. "For Agni's sake Katara, Aang did his weird Avatar power thing and went all ka powie on their asses, I don't think they'll be on our trail anytime soon," Top said, grinning happily.

"If I know anybody, it's my sister, and she can bounce back from anything," Zuko inputted grimly.

"Yes, my niece is quite the persistent one," Iroh told them a little darkly.

Aang sighed, "Well let me just say I don't think she'd be coming anytime soon. And anyway it wasn't her who found Zuko and Katara so she probably doesn't even know we were here."

"Ok, well for now we will stay here, I need to start teaching you firebending," Zuko said ending their conversation.

As they found their way back to Ember Island they all sat down exhausted. With a loud sigh Sokka suggested indicating to Zuko and Katara, "Well why we're all here, why don't you tell us what happened to you two."

Zuko and Katara shot glances at each other and began to tell their story. Starting from when they were on the beach, to Zuko's pearl dagger, the pirate's attack and the lies. As they retold their stories, there were questions and gasps in between. Then they turned to Iroh to hear the retelling of his story, listening intently.

"Well, when we were all at the Crystal Catacombs of old Ba Sing Se,-" Katara and Zuko shot an embarrassed look at each other as Iroh continued. "-as you know Prince Zuko-" Zuko whispered under his breath, "_Ex-_Prince." "-took sides with you but unfortunately when my niece hit Aang you all had to get out of there. As you saw, I tried to fight them off but you only saw them beginning to overpower me. With Azula occupied with what she thought the Avatar's death, I was free to hold them off with my breath of fire, because Azula was obviously going to take me back to the palace and lock me up."

"I followed the tunnel that Aang had made such a good job of and headed back out into Ba Sing Se. I tried to catch you before you went, but I was too late and you had already left on Appa. So I wandered the streets of Ba Sing Se until I came across a place that had the sign of the White Lotus painted on its door. Naturally, I knocked on the door and all of a sudden I was out cold."

"Yu Yan archers," Katara muttered hatefully.

"Yes, it was Yu Yan archers and I didn't see it coming. The next thing I know, I woke up with a terrible pain in the side of my temple and found that I was in a metal cage lined with bars. It was on a cart in which three Ostrich Horses were pulling with three fire nation men riding them. There was no possible way that I could get out and so I just waited for something to happen."

"I must have fell asleep because what I saw, in what I thought was a matter of minutes but must've been hours, I was on this island. Of course I knew this island well and couldn't mistake it for Ember Island. My confusion and suspicion grew even more as my small, metal prison was carted onto a ship. But not just any ship, Prince Zuko's ship. I was there for a bit less than a day when it started to move."

"So I started to put the pieces together and gathered I was being sent back to Azula. And, I was right. And you all pretty much know the rest from there. Zhao didn't ask many questions, he gave me tea and I had a game of Pai Sho with some of the men, so I wasn't bothered. I knew what was coming at the end of the journey, and it wasn't going to be good."

There was a short pause as the gaang took it all in until Zuko said, "Well you got it lucky. We had hardly any light source or ventilation in the room, we were fed terrible food and our drinks were filled with Chi Block. Why didn't they put Chi Block in yours?"

Iroh looked at Zuko kindly and smiled, leaving Zuko's question unanswered. Zuko growled in annoyance and Katara laughed at Zuko's typical attitude.

**

* * *

**

Ok, ok, well...I was only meant to have one more chapter but I thought I'd do Iroh's story. There will be a sequel! I just hope the story keeps going as well in it. I'll give you more info about it next chapter. Exams are starting Monday and my Drama is more often so chapters will be slowing down a lot.  
Please note that this is not related to the series. Things are different! It's my fic so I'm changing stuff, so you'll have to go along with the new stuff =P Zuko didn't join Azula & Azula didn't take Iroh as prisoner. Hope you enjoyed! R&R. Your input will be taken into consideration!


	9. Ember Island Talk

**Chapter 9: Ember Island Talk**

As the crackling fire died down, Iroh and Sokka went to bed, which left Katara and Zuko sitting on one side of the fire and Aang and Toph on the opposite side.

"Ok, now that old guy and Ponytail have gone to bed, tell us what _really_ happened, and I'll know if you're lying," Toph inquired smugly.

"What do you mean? We told you everything that happened," Katara replied honestly, confusion in her tone.

"Not about your imprisonment, I mean about you two."

"What about us two?" Katara asked curiously whilst furrowing her brows.

"Oh come on Sugar Queen, there's definitely something going on, you and your boyfriend over there have been acting strange with each other since we left that ship."

Zuko shouted, "She's not my girlfriend," whilst Katara shouted in unison, "He's not my boyfriend."

Toph was instantly in hysterics, falling off her earth made seat. Between laughs she said, "Well that just proves my point." Then she shot up and addressed the trio, "Well I'm off to bed, G'night all." As she wandered off the three heard her snickering and mumbling something inaudible under her breath.

Katara yawned and followed Toph's lead, as if completely oblivious to Toph's previous episode, "Yeah, I think I'm going to go and get some shut eye as well, I'll see you two in the morning." She headed in the same direction as Toph and it was only Zuko and Aang left to sit by the warmth of the fire.

Minutes passed as they sat uncomfortably on their earth made seats. They were alert tonight, and whenever they heard the slightest noise they would jump and look at the direction where the noise came from. Zuko coughed and Aang was on his feet, in his offensive stance in one motion. "Glad to see your ready for a fight with anyone," Zuko said.

Aang laughed a little nervously, "Yeah." There was more silence as Aang sat back down. "Hey Zuko, thank you for helping Katara, I'm sure it was tough for you both."

"I should be thanking you, you're the one who found us and got us out of there."

"It was nothing. But I finally think that Katara has accepted you and fully trusts you."

"Well after what we've just been through, I should hope so." There was a pause. "So, did anything else happen while we were gone?"

"Not really, I've been watching Sokka and Toph do some sparring that's about it."

Zuko stifled back a laugh. "Toph was sparring with Sokka? A master earthbender fighting a…boomerang?"

Aang laughed. "Sokka has a space sword, and he didn't go too badly. He's been to a swords master."

"Oh really? I didn't know that. I think I'll give him a run for his money tomorrow," Zuko said cracking his knuckles.

"What? With swords?"

"Yeah didn't you know? I rely a lot on my swords, especially when I'm acting as the Blue Spirit."

"Oh, I remember, you threatened to kill me with them, but that was just to get out of that prison."

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Oh right, you know I am sorry about that."

"It doesn't matter, you saved me and now I've saved you. We're equal."

"Thanks, I'm glad your so understanding, not many people would see it that way. So are you ready for some firebending training tomorrow?"

"Are you going to give me lessons on breathing?" Aang whined.

Zuko laughed at his reluctance and replied, "Not really, maybe a bit of breathing but then we will work on your stance mainly. Sorry, but we have to do the basics first because you can't master firebending without the basics, don't worry, I've tried."

"Um, well do you know a place where we could go to practice…away from everyone?"

"What's wrong with out here? Do you think you're going to make a fool of yourself?"

"No, I think that I'm going to hurt someone."

"No you won't, I'll teach you to control it," Zuko said earnestly.

"But what happens if something goes wrong and I burn someone. Can't we find somewhere else to go?" Aang asked a little desperately.

Zuko shot him a questionable glance and shrugged. "Well if you really want to I'm sure we can find somewhere."

Aang exhaled. "Ok, thanks."

"But seeing as though I'm going to be your firebending teacher, if there's something that I need to know that's going to affect your training it would be good if you could let me know."

There was a brief silence as Aang stared into the burning embers that laid only a few feet away from him turning into ashes. As he looked down at his feet Aang explained, "Well, the first time when I tried firebending I wanted to start learning how to shoot flames not do breathing exercises. So I got carried away and lost control of my bending and I…I burnt someone. I burnt Katara, and I will never forgive myself for that."

"Things like that happen, Aang," Zuko reasoned. "I've lost count how many times I've burnt myself, Uncle or my crew. But isn't she a healer anyway?"

"Well yes, but she didn't know that then, she only found out that she was when she placed her hands in the water after I burnt her."

Zuko got up and walked over to Aang, sitting down next to him. "Ok, well if you feel strongly about bending near anyone until you get the hang of it, we'll find somewhere else to go."

Aang nodded and smiled. Zuko returned the smile, one of the many traits that was very rare for the young ex-prince. And they to soon headed off to bed, in which sleep took over them quickly and they fell into a deep slumber until the early morning sun rose above the horizon.

**

* * *

**

Well once again thank you all for so much feedback, it has given me enough encouragement to continue with a sequel. This will be the last chapter of 'Imprisoned In Your Own Ship' and the sequel will be called 'Fighting For Your Life'. I couldn't think of anything else haha. It will be more based on the war/defeating Ozai and all the rest. Also, could you all please tell me whether you want Taang or Tokka. If your lucky I'll bring in another character like Suki. So if you want Sukka or Sukaang, or whatever lol just tell me and I'll try and make them happen! So make sure you look out for the sequel and tell me pairings!!! Thanks again, El.


End file.
